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Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors In Need |
Good News for Spring and Summer 🌞
The excitement continues beyond our recent High Five anniversary celebration because we achieved our Spring and Summer Break Giving Campaign goals 🎉! Thank you to our incredible community and generous corporate sponsors for making this happen.
Spring Break is almost here and thanks to Brighthouse Financial, we were able to distribute nearly $12,000 of food support via grocery gift cards to 81 local families this past Friday. In addition to the gift cards, every family received encouraging notes from the community and a resource guide outlining additional social services and other helpful information. See some pictures here.
And just this week we received the great news that we met our funding goal for summer as well! Thank you to those who sponsored families to make sure no child goes hungry while school is in recess. Special thanks to a generous donor, along with corporate sponsors Brighthouse Financial, Novant Health, Aire Serv, and International Paper for helping us meet the $40,000 goal!
Just a reminder that we are still accepting donations because the need is ongoing and we expect it to continue to grow. We are already planning for the 2025-2026 school year already and want to be prepared.
The Five Year Celebration Continues 🎉
Thank you again to school counselors, social workers, principals, community partners, corporate sponsors, and supporters like you for our dedication to feeding families and strengthening our community. The past five amazing years would not have happened without you.
As part of the anniversary, we hosted two successful Poverty Simulators with Crisis Assistance Ministry the week of March 17 . Participants gained powerful insight into the struggles of families facing financial insecurity, with one attendee commenting, “It was enlightening and also made me realize how easy it is to get into a financial crisis.”
Next up: We are holding a Blessing Bag event on April 27 to assemble care packages with essential hygiene items and snacks for families in need. You can find all the details further down in this newsletter—please join us!
Finally, I want to extend a special thank you to Luke Gura of Shutter Door Films for capturing the heart of our High Five celebration in a wonderful event video, and to Richard Davis for beautifully documenting the day through pictures. Luke and Richard offered their time and talents and their generosity helps us share our mission and impact in a meaningful way.
🎥 Watch the video recap: here
📸 Check out the event photos: here
Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Together, we are feeding families and strengthening our community!
—Heather & the Ballantyne Families Team Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors In Need |
Thank You from a Ballantyne Families Recipient |
"My children and I want to say "thank you so much for your generosity" Thank you for brightening our holidays with your "Thanksgiving Basket"! I have placed all those beautiful notes in my agenda and around our house to read them at all times. As a single mom guilt always comes to mind for not spending enough time with my kids. We are so excited to receive a walmart gift card. The kids were so happy that mom could cook their favorite meal for Thanksgiving and I am grateful that I can still bake their favorite dessert for Christmas. I just can't thank you enough for all that you do." |
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What a fantastic time we had at our High Five Celebration! Our Pantry Tours were a huge success and we truly appreciate everyone who joined us to make the event special.
A very heartfelt thank you goes to Susan Hicks and the South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church Youth Group for their amazing efforts in cleaning and organizing our pantry before the event – your support truly made a difference! We would also like to extend our gratitude to Knights View Elementary and the Community House FBLA for organizing food drives in March. Additionally, we are deeply grateful for Ms. Guthrie’s generous donations. Your kindness and generosity make it possible for us to fulfill our weekly orders.
One of the highlights of March was serving 23 families in just one week – our largest number so far this school year! Thanks to your support, we are able to continue making a meaningful impact in our community.
As always, we would like to give a big thank you to our dedicated volunteers who helped us out in the pantry this month: Vimmi Borkar, Amulya Deepak, Kim Pongetti, Susan Hicks, Amanda Freeman, Kristine Walski, LaKeisha Watson, Melissa Graham, Denise Oswald, Stephanie Owens, Serina DelGuzzo, Heather Fray, Dominique Greve and Alyssa Cowell. Your time and efforts are invaluable and we couldn’t do this without you!
Sincerely, Erin, Tammy, and Sheilah |
Food Drives/Partnership Update |
March was another busy month with food drives at Knights View Elementary and Community House Middle School. The 1st and 2nd graders at Knights View helped to collect, sort and check expiration dates on their food donations. They also made beautifully decorated cards to go with our weekly pantry bags. The FBLA club at Community House Middle School led a St. Patricks’ Day Drive and donated several bags full of food to our pantry! Thank you to both of these groups!
We introduced a new donation opportunity at our 5 year celebration in March - Birthday Blessing bags to help a family in need celebrate their loved one’s birthday. You can find out more information about what this project involves by clicking Here. We are beginning to look for groups who might want to collect in August to help get our food pantry stocked for the 2025-2026 school year. Please contact lauren@ballantynefamilies.org if you are interested. Best, Lauren Rosenbaum |
Kathy Wholley Congratulations on being selected Volunteer of the Month for Ballantyne Families!
We asked Kathy to share why she likes to volunteer for Ballantyne Families:
"Many times we look at the big picture when donating our time and money and overlook the needs that are closest to us. I am grateful to have the opportunity to share my professional skills with such a great organization in my own backyard!"
Thank you so much for your support, Kathy! Your heart to serve and share your talents make such a difference in our organization!
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Let’s continue making a Difference Together. Need volunteers and donations - Blessing Bag Event: Blessing Bags will be provided to food pantry recipients in need as well as social workers and counselors to give to students. The products in these Blessing Bags CAN NOT be purchased with SNAP funds so families are extra appreciative to get them! Sign up to help below and/or donate items HERE!
Volunteer your time and talents: No matter your schedule or skills, there’s a place for you, your family members and friends to help our mission. Here’s how you can help:
Marketing: Help develop and execute a marketing strategy across all platforms.
Social Media: Provide expert guidance on building and managing our social media presence.
Charity Assessment: Assist with annual follow-ups with Charity Navigator, Candid, and Great Nonprofits.
Community Group: Be part of a team that presents to community organizations and encourages sponsorship of Ballantyne Families.
Grants & Corporate Partnerships: Ideal for self-starters who enjoy exploring new opportunities.
Appreciation Team: Perfect for communicators who are thoughtful and proactive.
Special Projects: Great for multitaskers who thrive in dynamic roles.
Other Opportunities: We also have flexible options for you and your children, including at-home and in-person roles.
Neighborhood Champions play a vital role in spreading awareness and rallying support for Ballantyne Families in their communities. As a Champion, you’ll help share our mission through your neighborhood communication channels and have the opportunity to organize food drives or other initiatives to support local families in need. If you’re passionate about making a difference right where you live, sign up below to learn more about how you can help!
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We received so much wonderful support for our High Five celebration and we can’t thank the following people and organizations enough: Novant Health for presenting a $15,000 check to Ballantyne Families during our High Five Celebration. We are grateful for your generous support and partnership!
Aire Serv for their partnership and their financial support during our High Five Celebration.
Coca Cola Consolidated for their generous donation!
Luke Gura (an AK alum) from Shutter Door Films who donated his time and talents to videotaping our High Five Celebration.
Richard Davis you kindly donated his time and talents to take most of the pictures above at our High Five Celebration.
We could not have had such a successful High Five celebration without the contributions for the High Five core team. This group worked tirelessly to make sure that every detail was thought of and executed: Erin Furey, Lauren Rosenbaum, Julie White, Sally Pickard, Robert McAfee, Denise Oswald, Melissa Graham, Brooke Schonfeld, Kathy Wholley, Jackie Gyoerkoe, Debora Pupo and Laura McCluer.
We are also grateful for all of High Five Celebration volunteers who helped set up and/or helped on the day of: Avery and Sheilah White, Allison Wong, Tyler, Mason and Katelyn McAfee, Max Prentice, Jackson and Daniel Kenny, Kody Gyoerkoe, Owen Bradshaw, Mehar and Pooja Satija, Emily and Lisa Hunt, Elliott, Ashley, Eliza and Geoff Parish, Lyon Tan, Deesha and Amulya Deepak, Rayyan Abdeen, Fionn Gaioni, Brooke Watts, Ashley Armbruster, Rivka Rutledge Watrous, Jenna Rowan, Lauren Adams, Lydia Shen, Ayden, Morgan and Sean Graham, Caleb and Caroline Rosenbaum, Preston, Christian and Kristine Walski, Anya Vakeel, Georgia Rose and Richard Pickard, Kaiya and Richard Davis, Michael Lin, Saanvi Dey, Anoushka Guptha Medini, Grace Park, Vaishnavi Bilipkumar, Shefali Sharon, Megan Furey, Alyssa Cowell, Nancy and Mark Zolotorofe, Heather and Cameron Fray, Amanda Freeman, Lance and Cathie Weeden, Bryan Schonfeld, Jen Smith, Jill LeClair, Luke Gura and Becky Rogers.
We are grateful for our partnership with Crisis Assistance Ministry who moderated the Poverty Simulators and to the Morrison YMCA for allowing us to use their community room.
A big thank you to the Ballantyne Ridge HS Attendance Ambassadors, Knights View ES, Chirag S., Emily H., Logan S., Pupo Family, and Sruthi G. for writing heartfelt notes to support families in need for our spring and summer giving campaigns.
We are honored to have the support of the Rotary Club of Ballantyne who gave us a $500 donation!
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14023 Lissadell Circle
Charlotte, North Carolina 28277
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